School Start Times

Our Problem

Across the nation, there is a bus driver shortage. In the Park Hill School District, this has led to frustrating challenges. As Park Hill has grown, it has become more and more difficult for our school-bus service to keep and hire enough bus drivers. Our families and our school staff tell us they notice the problems in service that result from First Student’s shortage of drivers. Having so many inexperienced, substitute drivers and so many office workers having to cover bus routes means too many late buses and too many communication problems.

While costs for transportation increased sharply over the last few years, state funding for transportation has not kept up. Because we have some money in our reserves, this gap in funding is not an immediate crisis, but we cannot keep taking money from the reserves indefinitely for this and other costs.

Our Solution

We worked with First Student on solutions like increased driver pay, marketing job openings, and creative recruiting efforts, including providing hours in district jobs to help bring drivers up to full-time employment. However, there were still not enough drivers, so the Board voted to move ahead with efforts to add more tiers of bus routes, which would change our start times. Because the same drivers would be able to circle around and drive the additional tiers of bus routes, we would not need as many drivers.

Our Process

We initially started our process in April to change school start times, but because of overwhelming feedback from our Park Hill parents, staff members, students and community members, we decided not to change our start times for the 2019-2020 school year. Since then, our Sleep and Start Times work group investigated research about students’ sleep needs, and it considered how changing start times would impact our schools and our families’ lives. The work group’s report included survey results from more than 1,000 parents and about 400 staff.

To help us address this ongoing problem, our Board of Education approved advisory committee members, a timeline and evaluation criteria for creating a multi-tier busing model. This would change school start times, starting with the 2020-2021 school year.

This advisory committee studied the factors affecting this issue. They took into account the findings of the Sleep and Start Times work group.

Our Problem

Across the nation, there is a bus driver shortage. In the Park Hill School District, this has led to frustrating challenges. As Park Hill has grown, it has become more and more difficult for our school-bus service to keep and hire enough bus drivers. Our families and our school staff tell us they notice the problems in service that result from First Student’s shortage of drivers. Having so many inexperienced, substitute drivers and so many office workers having to cover bus routes means too many late buses and too many communication problems.

While costs for transportation increased sharply over the last few years, state funding for transportation has not kept up. Because we have some money in our reserves, this gap in funding is not an immediate crisis, but we cannot keep taking money from the reserves indefinitely for this and other costs.

Our Solution

We worked with First Student on solutions like increased driver pay, marketing job openings, and creative recruiting efforts, including providing hours in district jobs to help bring drivers up to full-time employment. However, there were still not enough drivers, so the Board voted to move ahead with efforts to add more tiers of bus routes, which would change our start times. Because the same drivers would be able to circle around and drive the additional tiers of bus routes, we would not need as many drivers.

Our Process

We initially started our process in April to change school start times, but because of overwhelming feedback from our Park Hill parents, staff members, students and community members, we decided not to change our start times for the 2019-2020 school year. Since then, our Sleep and Start Times work group investigated research about students’ sleep needs, and it considered how changing start times would impact our schools and our families’ lives. The work group’s report included survey results from more than 1,000 parents and about 400 staff.

To help us address this ongoing problem, our Board of Education approved advisory committee members, a timeline and evaluation criteria for creating a multi-tier busing model. This would change school start times, starting with the 2020-2021 school year.

This advisory committee studied the factors affecting this issue. They took into account the findings of the Sleep and Start Times work group.

July 25, 2019

July 31, 2019

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the media center at Lakeview
Middle School. The committee's meetings are open to the public.

Aug. 7, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the
media center at Lakeview. The committee's meetings are open to the public.

Aug. 28, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the media center at Plaza
Middle School. The committee's meetings are open to the public.

Sept. 9, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the media center at Plaza. The committee's meetings are open to the public.

Sept. 23, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the media center at Plaza. The committee's meetings are open to the public.

Sept. 23, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

Public feedback boards open here on Park Hill Listens.

Oct. 1, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the media center at
Plaza. The committee's meetings are open to the public.

Oct. 1, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

There is an open house for the public, 5:30-8 p.m. in the large gym at Plaza.

Oct. 2, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

At noon on Wednesday, Oct. 2, we will close the idea comment boards, so the advisory committee can review all the comments before it makes a recommendation to the Board.

Oct. 2, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The School Start Times advisory committee meets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the media center at Plaza. At this meeting, the advisory committee will consider all the public feedback before deciding on a recommendation to the Board of Education. This recommendation will include considerations for fine-tuning the recommendation.

Oct. 10, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The Board receives the advisory committee's recommended plan.

Oct. 17, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The Board discusses the final recommendation.

Oct. 24, 2019

School Start Times has finished this stage

The Board considers and votes on the final recommendation. We will send out a message sharing that decision right away that night.

Winter 2020

School Start Times is currently at this stage

At the end of the 2019-2020 school year, we will be at the end of our current contract for transportation services. This fall, we will open up a request for proposals to any interested transportation provider, and in the winter, we will select our provider.

Our provider for next year will need to review the final start times plan and might make small tweaks.

August 2020

this is an upcoming stage for School Start Times

The new school start times will take effect in the
2020-2021 school year.